Cardio vs Energy System Conditioning for Musicians
Today, I want to help you change the way you think about cardio, so you can stop chasing fitness and start engineering performance.
Most people associate cardio with HIIT workouts or long runs.
But if you want to train smarter and start thinking like an athlete in your own right, you need to evolve your approach to conditioning. That means understanding the difference between generic cardio and energy system conditioning.
Let’s break it down.
Note: This topic can get a bit science-heavy, but learning the basics pays off.
The Difference Between Cardio and Energy System Conditioning
Cardio is a general term. It describes what you feel.
Elevated heart rate. Faster breathing. Sweating. The sense that you’re doing something productive.
Energy system conditioning explains what you’re training, why it matters, and how it transfers to performance. It still raises your heart rate, but it’s specific and intentional.
Energy system (noun): a group of processes that work together to produce energy.
There are three ways your body produces energy. You use all three when you perform.
The job of training is to isolate each system, develop it, then reconnect everything into one unified performance engine.
That’s what turns cardio from a mindless grind into a useful training tool.
Cardio is the effect.
Energy system conditioning is the mechanism.
Energy Systems: The Foundation of Conditioning
Your body produces energy using a molecule called ATP.
ATP fuels everything, from breathing to playing to training.
There are three biochemical systems that create ATP, each with different characteristics.
The Phosphagen System (0–10 seconds)
This system powers short, maximal efforts.
It relies on stored ATP within the muscle and releases energy very quickly. Once those stores are depleted, output drops until they’re replenished.
The Glycolytic System (10 seconds–~2 minutes)
This system supports moderate- to high-intensity efforts.
It uses glucose or stored glycogen to produce energy quickly, but creates metabolic byproducts that lead to burning and fatigue.
The Oxidative (Aerobic) System (Beyond ~2 minutes)
This system dominates during longer, lower-intensity work.
It uses oxygen, fats, and carbohydrates to produce ATP. It’s efficient, but slower to respond.
These systems never work in isolation.
They overlap constantly. One simply dominates depending on how hard and how long you’re working.
That’s why conditioning needs to be trained:
With focus (to stress a specific system)
In tandem (to train combined use)
At the crossover points between systems
When people say they’re “doing cardio,” they’re usually sitting in one small section of this curve.
Variation is what creates a balanced engine.
How to Train Each Energy System
1. Phosphagen Training (0–10 seconds)
Work: Maximal efforts such as sprints, jumps, heavy lifts, explosive movements
Rest: 3–4 minutes or more
Purpose: Improve power, speed, and neuromuscular output
2. Glycolytic Training (10 seconds–~2 minutes)
Work: Repeated high-intensity efforts within this time window
Rest: Depends on objective
Purpose:
Short rests (15–30s): lactate tolerance and buffering
Longer rests (60–120s): repeatability and power maintenance
3. Oxidative Training (Beyond ~2 minutes)
Work: Steady-state work or long intervals (3–20 minutes)
Rest:
Continuous sessions: none
Interval sessions: short active recovery (30s–2 min)
Purpose: Aerobic base, recovery capacity, oxygen and fat utilisation
A Note on Crossover and Hybrid Conditioning
There’s huge value in training the intersections between energy systems.
This is where real-world performance lives.
Hybrid work trains your ability to transition between systems without falling apart, which matters far more than excelling in one isolated zone.
The best way to understand this is to train it and feel the difference.
That’s it!
